Page:The Conquest of Mexico Volume 2.djvu/443

 Page 146 (3).—So numerous, according to Cortés, that they covered hill and dale, as far as the eye could reach, mustering more than a hundred and twenty thousand strong. (Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 162.) When the Conquerors attempt anything like a precise numeration, it will be as safe to substitute "a multitude," "a great force," etc., trusting the amount to the reader's own imagination.

Page 149 (1).—Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 131.

Page 150 (1).—Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 131, 133, 136.—Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 19.—Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 154, 167.—Oviedo, Hist, de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 16.

Page 151 (1).—It was dated at "Villa Segura de la Frontera of this New Spain on the thirtieth of October 1520." But, in consequence of the loss of the ship intended to bear it, the letter was not sent till the spring of the following year; leaving the nation still in ignorance of the fate of the gallant adventurers in Mexico, and the magnitude of their discoveries.

Page 151 (2).—The state of feeling occasioned by these discoveries may be seen in the correspondence of Peter Martyr, then residing at the court of Castile. See, in particular, his epistle, dated March, 1521, to his noble pupil, the Marques de Mondejar, in which he dwells with unbounded satisfaction on all the rich stores of science which the expedition of Cortés had thrown open to the world.—Opus Epistolarum, ep. 771.

Page 152 (1).—This memorial is in that part of my collection made by the former President of the Spanish Academy, Vargas Ponce. It is signed by four hundred and forty-four names; and it is remarkable that this roll, which includes every other familiar name in the army, should not contain that of Bernal Diaz del Castillo. It can only be accounted for by his illness; as he tells us he was confined to his bed by a fever about this time.—Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 134.

Page 152 (2).—Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 179.—Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 18. Alonso de Avila went as the bearer of despatches to St. Domingo. Bernal Diaz, who is not averse, now and then, to a fling at his commander, says that Cortés was willing to get rid of this gallant cavalier, because he was too independent and plain spoken.—Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 136.

Page 153 (1).—Bernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista, cap. 136.—Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 10, cap. 19.

Page 153 (2).—Ibid., ubi supra.—Says Herrera, "And he dubbed and accoutred him as a knight after the fashion of Castille. And since knighthood was a Christian order, he caused him to be baptized and named him Don Lorençar Maxiscatzin."

Page 154 (1).—For an account of the manner in which this article was procured by Montane and his doughty companions, see ante, vol. i. p. 318.

Page 154 (2).—"Thus were constructed thirteen brigantines in the ward of Atempa, near a hermitage called St. Buenaventura; these were built by Martin Lopez, one of the first conquistadores, with the assistance of Neguez Gomez."—Hist, de Tlascala, MS.

Page 155 (1).—Solís dismisses this prince with the remark, "that he reigned but a few days; long enough, however, for his indolence and apathy to efface the memory of his name among the people." (Conquista, lib. 4, cap. 16.) Whence the historiographer of the Indies borrowed the colouring for this portrait I cannot conjecture; certainly not from the ancient authorities, which uniformly delineate the character and conduct of the Aztec sovereign in the light represented in the text. Cortés, who ought to know, describes him "as held to be very wise and valiant."—Rel.